Joginder Sharma (born 23 October 1983) is an Indian former professional
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er who currently serves as a
Deputy superintendent of police in the
Haryana Police. He has made sporadic appearances for the
Indian cricket team
The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...
. He also played for
Chennai Super Kings from 2008 to 2012. He was a key member of the Indian team that won the
2007 inaugural ICC T20 World Cup, where in the
final, he took the winning wicket of
Misbah-ul-Haq. During his time with Chennai in the IPL, he was a part of the team that won the
2010
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and
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
tournaments. He is currently serving as a
police officer in
Haryana.
Style of play
A bowling
all rounder, he played as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler and captained his state,
Haryana.
Domestic career
Sharma made his first-class debut for Haryana against
Madhya Pradesh in the 2002/03
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...
, hitting 81 before taking 11/84 to lead Haryana to a 103 run victory. He had made his debut in the limited over domestic arena the season before.
Sharma finished his debut season with 24 wickets at 17.41 and 280 runs at 46.66 He followed this with 148 runs at 68.51 and 23 wickets at 23.39 in 2003/04 Ranji season. He was selected for the
North Zone team for the
Duleep Trophy, and took 6/59 in a match against
West Zone
The West Zone cricket team is a first-class cricket team that represents western India in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. It is a composite team of players from five first-class Indian teams from western India competing in the Ranji Trophy: ...
during the victorious campaign.
Sharma gained national attention in a match for India A against the national team at
Bangalore, when he dismissed
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is an Indian cricket coach and former captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of ...
,
V. V. S. Laxman
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (; born 1 November 1974) is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in T ...
and
Yuvraj Singh.
He also played for the Rest of India side, which defeated
Mumbai in the
Irani Trophy.
Having scored two successive centuries, and securing a 14/116 in the 2004/05
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...
against
Vidarbha
Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...
, Sharma won his place in the Indian side for the
Bangladesh tour. He had limited batting opportunities, scoring 34 in two brief knocks at the end of the innings without being dismissed, but his bowling was ineffective, taking 1/99, and was dropped after playing in that ODI series.
He ended the Ranji Trophy with 36 wickets, the second highest at 15.47 and 472 runs at 52. In 2005/06, he topped the Duleep Trophy bowling averages.
Sharma performed strongly in the 2006/07 Indian domestic season to bring himself into contention for national selection. His batting for
North Zone in the
Duleep Trophy yielded 421 runs in three matches, and he was subsequently the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, taking 39 wickets in seven matches, as well as two
ten-wicket hauls and a
hat-trick.
Despite being unable to prevent Haryana from being relegated to the Plate division, he was recalled in January 2007 to the team at the expense of
Irfan Pathan for the ODI series against the
West Indies.
He was selected for the second ODI in
Cuttack, but after scoring 1 and failing to take a wicket,
Pathan was immediately recalled and Sharma dropped. Sharma was not named in the Indian squad for the
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...
.
International career
Sharma found a place for himself in the
2007 World Twenty20
The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural Twenty20 International cricket world championship, contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament—the ten Test-playing nations and the ...
in South Africa. He bowled the final over of the semi-final against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, with
Michael Hussey facing and Australia needing 22 runs to win, taking two wickets as India won by 15 runs.
He also bowled the final over in the final against
Pakistan with thirteen runs required and only one wicket in hand. His first ball went for a
wide and the next was borderline but not called by the umpire. The third was a
full toss which was pulled straight back over his head for six by
Misbah-ul-Haq. Then he bowled a delivery out side off stump which Misbah attempted to
scoop the ball over the fine leg fielder from the fourth ball but mistimed it and was caught by
Sreesanth
Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth (, born 6 February 1983) is an Indian former cricketer and film actor who played all forms of the game. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he p ...
, giving India the win. The
Haryana government announced a cash reward of for Joginder Sharma in recognition of his contribution to the Indian victory.
Post-playing career
Joginder Sharma joined the
Haryana Police in October 2007, while still an active cricketer. He is, , a Deputy Superintendent of Police located in
Pehowa
Pehowa is a town and a municipal committee in Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is an important sacred Hindu pilgrimage site, related to Krishna and Mahabharata, within the 48 Kos Parikrama of Kurukshetra. The Hindu geneal ...
in the
Kurukshetra district of
Haryana. Sharma retired from his cricketing career on 3 February 2023 having not played professional cricket since 2017.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Joginder
1983 births
Living people
Indian cricketers
India One Day International cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
Haryana cricketers
People from Rohtak
Chennai Super Kings cricketers
North Zone cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers
Cricketers from Haryana
Indian police officers